Hmmm...What Do I Call This??? Turkey AMAZINGNESS?!?!?!?!

Thanks to a dear foodie friend of mine (you know who you are) I decided to tackle a new dish tonight. I love trying new things; the balance of anxiety over it possibly falling to pieces, with the anticipation of totally rocking it is such an amazing feeling!  In this case, there were some scary moments but in the end, it was perfect!

Here's what you need!

1 package of lean ground turkey
1 medium red pepper, sliced lengthwise or chopped
1-2 cups of chopped spinach
Pesto (a friend of mine gave me a jar of fresh, homemade pesto which is amazing.  Another option would be just some garlic, EVOO and basil, or a natural store-bought pesto)
1/2 cup of feta cheese
1 large zucchini

First, pound the turkey out on a piece of wax paper until it is about 10x12 inches.  Then, spread on the pesto, sprinkle the feta, place the red peppers so they will roll easily (parallel with the short side of the turkey breast) or sprinkle them if you chose to chop, and finish with the chopped spinach.

Using the wax paper to guide the turkey, make a spiral "loaf" by rolling the turkey.  This is where it got scary, and I was SO happy I had the wax paper to guide it along.  I went from the short end, but you could go the other way, just keep in mind how you prepare and place the peppers since they will make rolling difficult if placed in the wrong direction.

Then, place in a pre-heated oven until cooked through, about 30-40 minutes and voila, you have a fabulous, simple weeknight dinner!

This was so amazing, and even my three year old loved it!  Well...he asked to have some of the "bread" and when I told him it was turkey and he insisted he didn't like it, so of course I told him it was bread.  He loves to prove to me that he likes things that I don't expect him to, he just kept saying "see Mama, I like it!"  I need to stop underestimating the taste buds of children!

Then for the side dish...I know you were all wondering what we were going to do with that zucchini.  That's right, zucchini "noodles"!  A few months ago I invested in a spiralizer and it was SO worth it!!!  It's priced around $36 usually, but happened to be on sale for $28 when I got it.  

We ate half of the turkey dish tonight, along with the zucchini "noodles" and have the other half for meals this week!  The one large zucchini made just enough noodles for the four of us, so no extras there.  I really don't like them re-heated, but that's just me.  If you want to have leftovers, definitely make two or more!  Enjoy!!!

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder...My Version!

As you may be able to tell by now, I don't march to the beat of anyone else's drum, and I hardly ever follow a recipe exactly!  So, I use this forum to share with you what I actually cook, based on ideas I get from Pinterest.  This week, I modified a Sweet Potato Corn Chowder recipe to fit my pantry, and my taste!

My Ingredients:

3 Medium Sweet Potatoes
3 Cups of Frozen Corn (of course you could use fresh, but I'm all about simplifying!) 
1 Medium White Onion
2 Tablespoons of EVOO
3-4 Cloves of Garlic (I used 3T of jarred minced garlic)
4 Cups of Vegetable Broth (Low Sodium is ideal)
2 Cups of Water
1/2 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon of Thyme
1 Teaspoon of Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to Taste

First, dice the onion and cook it in a large soup pot with the EVOO until the onions are tender.  Then, add the garlic, salt, pepper, cinnamon and sweet potatoes.  Sauté for an additional minute or two.  Add the broth and water, and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.

Blend the mixture well in a food processor or blender.  Return to the stove, and add the corn, thyme, rosemary and more salt/pepper if needed.  Cook until the corn is cooked through, and enjoy!

Soup Season is in Full Swing!!!

That's right, it's Fall, and for some that means pumpkin flavored everything (yuck!) but for this New England girl it means soup...well, that and football of course!  I've talked a lot about how cooking based on weekly sales and using the guiding principles of clean eating isn't about limiting yourself, it's about being inspired, and this week is no exception.  Here is how this week's soup recipe came to be!

What I had:

Corn - four ears I grabbed last week for free!

What is on sale:

5 pound bag of potatoes $1.88 (four for the recipe).  So far, this one bag has inspired this week's side dish along with carrots and onions, also on sale for $1.88 a bag, and also led to this soup!  I even have three potatoes left for what I expect will be baked chips or "fries"!

What I wanted: 

SOUP!  In all seriousness, I usually like to have more of my ingredients on hand or on sale, but I have been CRAVING a good chowder, and since I had corn and potatoes, there was no question what I was going to make!

This meant I needed to get:

A Red Pepper for $1.88
Celery (three ribs for the recipe) $2.08 for two hearts, and I used half of one heart
Scallions (four for the recipe) $1.18 of which I used half
Chicken Stock for $2.68

That's a total of $5.67 for the needed items

I had the other ingredients on hand; almond milk, EVOO, salt and pepper.

Start by heating two tablespoons of EVOO in a large pot, then add just the white bulbs of the scallions, red pepper, and celery, all chopped.  Cook them for about ten minutes, until the veggies start to get tender.

Then, add in the broth, potatoes diced into half inch pieces, half of the corn (about two cups) and two teaspoons of salt.  Bring that to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While that cooks, puree the other half of the corn and a cup and a half of almond milk in a food processor.  

Add the puree mixture and a quarter teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper to the soup and simmer until the soup thickens, about another 10 minutes.  You may want to add more almond milk to get your desired thickness, I added a half cup more.  Finally, add the scallion greens and serve!  You could also top it with a dollop of sour cream if the mood strikes you! 

In the end, this soup cost me about $8 to make including the things I had on hand, and yielded 8 servings.  Only a dollar a meal makes this mama happy!!!

Stocking Up On Chicken, and Filling In Gaps!

One of the keys to, and best things about eating well on a budget is that if you do it right, you will have weeks like this one.  The sales aren't great, but they have been in recent weeks, so I got what I needed to fill in the gaps in my fridge, and still drew upon the items I stocked up on last week for my cooking inspiration for the week!  

My weekly cooking and shopping plans always involve asking myself; what do I have, what do I need, what is on sale, and what am I cooking?  Here's the breakdown of how this week's plan came together!

Sale Items:

• Chicken Breast, $1.29/lb.  I got two packages, one for this week and another I will freeze for next week.  That's NINE pounds of chicken for a total of $11.68...and I'm stocked up for two weeks or more!
• Asparagus, regularly $3.99/lb, on sale for $1.88/lb.  We're not even big asparagus fans, but yet again, the sales are inspiring my cooking!!!
• Organic Omega-3 Eggs, Regularly $3.69, on sale for $2.99.  These will last me 2-3 weeks as well!

Basics we always need in the house:

• Turkey Breast, I get a pound every week, and the all natural variety is $8.49/lb at my local store. That's up from the usual $7.99 per pound, which of course I noticed!  It does go on sale from time to time for $6.49, but it's on the list every week regardless.  
• Almond Milk, $2.99, which will last me 2-3 weeks since I really only use it in my Shakeology every morning.
• Lettuce, this week it's Baby Romaine for $2.99.  I'll get three salads out of this box.
• Baby Carrots $1.29 (my husband is joining me this week, and this is a must-have snack for him!)
• Apples for snacks for both myself and my husband, $1.92 for four based on $.99/lb
• Grape Tomatoes for $1.99, which I will use for both salads and snacks.  As a bonus, my three year old is OBSESSED with them!!!
• Strawberries for $2.99...my favorite fruit snack option! 

Every week I know I am going to cook chicken breast for grab-and-go lunches.  Then, I make one more cook-ahead recipe.  This week, I chose my second recipe based on a few things I already had:

• Green Peppers
• Corn
• Ground Turkey
• Tomatoes

So naturally, I put stuffed peppers on the list of things to cook this week!  That meant I needed to get:

• Quinoa (rice substitute) $6.59, but I only buy it once a month, so that won't be on my list again for weeks!
• Fresh Jalapenos $2.99 for a bag of about 10, so not only is this something I needed, but it will also inspire more recipes this week and next!

In the end, I paid $49.13 for a full week of food for both myself and my husband.  Don't forget, that includes several things that will carry me into the coming weeks as well!  We all need weeks like this to balance things out...and I can't believe this week was a low cost one despite needing quinoa...I always dread quinoa week! 

Attention all Sauce, Dressing and Dip Lovers!!!

I've found that the key to finding success in any eating plan or lifestyle change is to avoid focusing on what you can't have, and maintaining focus solely on what you can have!  One of my primary vices is what I put ON my food to make it tasty or even tolerable.  It was drilled into my head very early on that ranch dressing was the perfect mask for the taste of broccoli, veggies should be swimming in italian dressing when given the chance, and pasta is best when covered in sauce and cheese.  I have had to re-program my thinking, and it has been made so much easier when I re-direct my thinking from my sauce obsession, and become "addicted" to getting creative with alternatives!  

My favorite recipe to date is one I created somewhat on my own, by tweaking several I found online.  This is one of my favorite things to do, and is almost always how I cook...I NEVER follow a recipe exactly!  

You will need...

1 Avocado
2 Tablespoons of Light EVOO
1-2 Teaspoons of minced garlic, depending on your taste
The juice of half a lemon
1/4 Teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 Teaspoon of salt
1/4 Cup fresh cilantro 

Start by blending the EVOO, garlic and lemon juice until smooth.  Then, add pitted avocado, salt, pepper and cilantro.  In no time, you have the perfect substitute for...

• Salad dressing
• Veggie Dip
• Sour Cream (seriously, use this instead!)
• Mayo on sandwiches
• or anything else you use to "mask" your healthy foods!!!

Today, this was a key part of my clean lunch!!!

Soup Time! Yep...in 80 degree weather, I made soup!

I know, I know...I'm crazy, but you all had to know that by now!  The thing I LOVE more than anything about clean eating while staying on a budget is that it forces me to get creative!  This week, my source of inspiration was a gorgeous head of cauliflower that my three year old brought home with him after spending a week with my husband's parents.  Their family owns a farm in Northern Maine, and my little guy went into the field with his grandfather and chose this head of cauliflower special for me!!!  Here are all of my ingredients in this clean, yummy recipe!!!

1 head of cauliflower
2 medium sweet potatoes (the BEST food ever if you ask me)
A carton of organic, low sodium vegetable broth
1 tablespoon of sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of Light EVOO
A pinch of dried thyme
A shake of paprika

Start by chopping the cauliflower into florets, and cubing the (peeled) sweet potato.  Then, toss them in a large bowl with the EVOO, salt and pepper.  Spread the veggies on a baking sheet (single layer, using two sheets if needed) and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Stir, then bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Place the cooked veggies in a large, high-powered blender and add 3 cups of the broth, blending well.  Add more if needed in order to reach an even consistency.

Once blended well, place the soup mixture into a large pot, and heat until boiling, whisking in lemon juice, thyme and paprika.  Add more broth as needed to reach your desired consistency, or water if you would prefer!  Some other modifications would be chicken broth, or a homemade stock!  

I just finished a batch, and ended up with six generous portions.  That's six "grab-and-go" meals for this week!!!

My Shaw's Healthy Deals for the Week of August 29th!

Here's a little insight into my shopping and prepping for this week's 

FREE clean eating challenge!  

These are the healthy deals I got at Shaw's today, my usual couponing stomping ground!

  

8 cans of Del Monte Mixed Veggies, Regularly $1.25 each

"Reduced to Clear" at 50% off, so 8 cans were only $5.00.  

PLUS, I had two coupons for $1 off 4, so I paid $3 for all 8 cans, only $.38 each!

5 bags of Orchard Valley Almonds only $1 each for 2 ounce packages, regularly $1.67 each.  There are enough in each for two snacks for me, so I'll grab one each morning and have half with each snack!

Light String Cheese...as you may have noticed previously, I am a CHEESE ADDICT!  So, allowing myself a little treat is key, and if you join our challenge, you'll see that I have one every day!  These are usually $5.49 each, on sale for $3.99 and I had 2 $.55 off 1 coupons which doubled, so my final price was $2.89 for each pack of 12!

Cracker Barrel Cheddar Cheese Slices, regularly $4.99, sale price $3.99, plus there's a $1 off coupon in this month's "Big Book of Savings".  Check the flyer racks where the weekly ad is, and they're right there!  Only $2.99!

Kraft Fat Free Italian Dressing, regularly $3.19, sale price $2.50, plus I had a coupon for $.75 off 1 which doubled..only $1.  Now, this is not a clean food, but it's a great option for a healthy dressing or even a marinade!

3 pound bag of carrots, Regularly $2.29, sale price $1.88

Now for the KEY to my clean eating lifestyle and my prep day...chicken!  My rule is to buy at $1.99 per pound or less, and this week you can actually get it for that price at either Shaw's OR Hannaford!  What would have been $15.73 was only $10.47!

And...this is the result!  I got five breasts in the package, three of which I trimmed, sliced into smaller portions.  I just baked them with some black pepper, italian seasoning and minced garlic!  This will make for six meals worth of lean, tasty, CLEAN protein!!!

I rounded out the rest of my shopping at Hannaford...stay tuned for more deals and more healthy, clean recipes!